A FARMER’S wife who hid her husband’s body under a rockery and continued to claim £57,000 benefits in his name was jailed yesterday.

Rebekah Sturdey, 56, dug a hole under the garden feature to conceal Geoffrey Sturdey, 60, after he died suddenly, a court heard.

The widow was helped by three friends – Boqer-Ore Adie, 43, her daughter Hazel, 20, and her 25-year-old stepdaughter Karmel Adie – who all lived in a religious community on the couple’s remote farm.

The Department for Work and Pensions became suspicious in 2012 after tens of thousands of pounds in disability allowance and pension credits were paid to Mr Sturdey despite his not having been seen for four years.

Iranian-born Mrs Sturdey told investigators that he had gone on a touring holiday around Europe – but checks revealed he had no valid passport.

An aerial and land search was launched by a forensic team and his body was discovered on the farm near Tregaron, West Wales.

South African-born Boqer-Ore Adie was a registered carer and was also paid in excess of £19,000 in income support and carer’s allowance for looking after the already deceased Mr Sturdey, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Huw Rees said: “He was buried in a rockery at twice the depth of a normal grave.

“The women later admitted the rockery was the easiest place to bury a body but it was what he wanted. His body was remarkably well preserved and he was identified by his dental records.

“The women were arrested on suspicion of murder but tests showed he had died of natural causes. He had a history of stroke and heart attacks.”

The court heard it had been the wish of British-born Mr Sturdey, who had died in October 2008, to be buried on the 20-acre farm.

Mrs Sturdey and her husband had set up a religious community with Boqer-Ore Adie and her two children some years earlier.

Mr Rees said: “Their home contained a large number of religious books.

“They were not part of any organised group but they studied the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, and Boqer-Ore Adie had taught herself Hebrew.

“Mr Sturdey had chosen his own burial plot where he expected to be raised from the dead.

Investigators found more than £6,000 cash in a sweet tin plus gold worth £50,000, which the women had bought with the benefits money. Mrs Sturdey and Boqer-Ore Adie admitted benefits fraud and conspiracy to prevent the lawful burial of Mr Sturdey. Both were jailed for 20 months.

Karmel Adie, who admitted conspiracy to prevent the lawful burial, was given a nine-month suspended sentence and ordered to do 120 hours of community work.

Hazel Adie pleaded not guilty, a plea accepted by the prosecution. She was only 15 at the time and “under the influence” of the older women.

Their “Beth Berin wildlife haven and religious community” was at the end of a track near the village of Llwynygroes. Warnings on the gate told hikers and walkers to keep away and the Ten Commandments were pinned up on a board at the entrance.

Christopher James, defending Mrs Sturdey, said: “She respected her husband’s wishes for his burial. They did not wish for a post-mortem examination to be carried out. The burial was in accordance with their Biblical beliefs.”

Judge Keith Thomas described it as “highly unusual and a unique set of circumstances”.